Policy Analysis

An official Iranian protest to the world's nuclear watchdog could be an attempt to undermine its role in verifying the regime's compliance with potential diplomatic agreements.

On September 26, 2013, the Islamic Republic of Iran submitted an "explanatory note" to the IAEA responding to that agency's report on the implementation of nuclear safeguards in Iran. To read the full text of the Iranian letter, download the PDF.

The Moroccan government should be encouraged to adopt policies that preempt citizens from joining the Syrian jihad and deradicalize eventual returnees.

President Rouhani's track record shows that he is deeply committed to preserving the regime's longstanding interests, and frequently at odds with the principles of international law.

If the newly banned Brotherhood turns to violence, it will only validate a more thorough and perhaps permanent crackdown.

If the group's standing in Lebanon continues to implode, the country might cease to be the comfortable home for Hezbollah fugitives it has been for decades.

Sanctions might have brought Rouhani to the table, but they won't keep him there.

Too many journalists mistakenly view the Brotherhood as a normal political party rather than a highly secretive hierarchy whose most important figures often avoid the media completely.

Stopping Iran's increasingly rapid progress toward becoming a de facto nuclear weapons state requires significant diplomatic progress, and quickly.

Bahrain's proposal of a serving military officer and royal family member as its new envoy will likely complicate relations with the United States.

Islamist violence has chased off tourists, and now it threatens a key waterway -- and Egypt's entire economy.

Arming friendly rebel factions could help curb the slaughter of civilians, maintain pressure on Assad, eliminate the need for U.S. military action, and keep extremists in check, among other benefits.

Syria's Bashar al-Assad may have thrown a wrench into Iranian President Hasan Rouhani's plans for nuclear negotiations with the West -- if the United States learns the right lessons from the Syria experience.

Forget Rouhani -- Iran's hardline Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei might actually be open to a nuclear deal with America.

With help from Washington and the GCC, Yemen's political transition has been successful thus far, though deeper reform efforts will test the new government's stability.

As Israeli and Palestinian negotiators pursue their latest round of talks, hate speech remains one of many daunting obstacles to long-term peace. It is one thing for a government to tolerate private hate speech, but quite a different and more serious matter for it to actually produce, disseminate, or subsidize

Hezbollah retaliation could include firing rockets at Israel or executing terrorist attacks on Western and Israeli interests via the group's formidable global networks.

The system that will likely be put in place for Egypt's next parliamentary elections may sideline new parties, but this could help consolidate the country's scattered political spectrum.

Despite its shortcomings, the Oslo process has benefited Israelis and Palestinians, and its focus on nationalist frameworks remains more relevant than unfeasible binational proposals.

The Obama administration should take steps to ameliorate the negative effects of the chemical disarmament agreement, restore Washington's credibility, and preserve its ability to use force if necessary.